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 Monthly News and Views -  updated 4/30/06.
This page is updated monthly.  Please send submissions by the third week in each month.  Next update scheduled for May 29th.

 Special Events
Grow Biointensive Workshop
Tunbridge Energy Forum
Sustainable Energy Forum:  Peak Oil and the Environment (Washington, DC)
Local Living Economies Events in Burlington!
Under the Golden Dome:  
Will Stevens of ACORN Runs for the House!
Farmer Protection Act
Renewable Energy Vermont
Tracking Legislation in Vermont
Vt. Department of Public Service's Comprehensive Energy Plan
Quote of the Month:  
NYTimes:  "the party's over..."
BONUS:  Song of the Month:  There's Only So Much Oil on the Ground
Editorial:
Peak Spring?
Guest Editorial:  
We're On Our Own
Articles:
Candidate for Governor of Maine Runs on Peak Oil Platform!
The Inside Scoop:  A Tale from the Microbiological World
Student's Corner:  Maybe Peak Oil Isn't Such a Bad Thing?
Doing It with Bio in the Spring
Methanol:  An Energy Carrier with Potential
CVPS Cow Power™ is on the moooove
As the Crow Flies:  Reports from Around the State
VPON Holds Second Gathering
Second Tuesdays:  Special Report on Meeting with Vt Legislators
Post Oil Solutions
ACORN
Cabot Peak Oil Network
Chittenden County
Mad River Minutes
Columns
Doctor Gloom's Soapbox
Gold Stars to...
The Yellow Bike Project and Bike Recycle Vermont!
The Localvores!
Winooski Rain Gardens Project
Action!
If You Must Drive...
Winooski Environmental Leadership Board
Hazardous Waste Collection Dates
Organize a Peak Oil Book Display
Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper!
Write a Letter to a Representative
What's a Citizen TO DO? newsletter
Plan Ahead
Facing the Media Crisis
Resources
Organic Industry Structure (Can you say Pepsi-Cola Carrots?)
 Connect! - On-line Peak Oil Discussion Group for Vermonters.
VPON Archives
VT Resources - Sustainability, Food, Farm & Garden, Energy, Local Economy, Community Building, and                     Transportation. 
National Links/Educational Resources - charts, DVDs, posters, and more.


 Special Events
Grow Biointensive Workshop.  Saturday, May 13th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
World oil production is at peak.  How will we feed ourselves when the oil is declining?
Learn the basics of bio-intensive growing, a method of agriculture that will allow you to achieve high yields of organic produce sustainably in your own back yard without using fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers, or other outside inputs.  GROW BIOINTENSIVE™ instructor Tom Fugate will take you through the process of bed preparation, transplanting, compost making, companion planting, seed saving and more.  Learn how you can produce all your own food in less than 4,000 square feet while improving the soil and conserving resources.

Topics included:  bed preparation, sustainability, compost making, seed propagation/transplanting, companion planting, seed saving, food harvesting and winter storage, and solar greenhouses.

The workshop will be held at Pug Hill Farm in Moretown.  Please call 496-4549 for directions.
Registration fee is $40.  Lunch will be provided.  All proceeds benefit Rootswork and Ecology Action.
Pre-registration is required.  Space is limited.  To register call Tom Fugate at 496-4549 or email tfugate@madriver.com

Tom has been an active Bio-Intensive mini-farmer since 2002 and a certified GROW BIOINTENSIVE™ instructor since 2004.  He is a member of the Mad River Post Carbon group.

Tunbridge Energy Forum
Tuesday May 9th from 6-8 at the Tunbridge town hall on RT110. Energy Forum with an emphasis on replacing our electricity contracts.  Presentations followed by Q & A and discussion.  ISSUES: Where does our power come from?  How long will it continue to be "business as usual"?  How will we get our power in the future?   Presenting are a panel of students from Sharon Academy who did an extensive study of the subject with a panel of experts from the environmental, regulatory and legislative realm. Panel includes: Michael Dworkin, VT Law School Professor of Law & Director, Institute for Energy and the Environment; David Farnsworth, Esq., Public Service Board; Scudder Parker, energy alternatives enthusiast & Dem. Candidate For Governor of Vermont; Jim Masland, VT State Rep. (representing Thetford, Sharon, Strafford and Norwich) & on Natural Resources and Energy Committee; Riley Allen,  Director of Planning, Department of Public Service. The event is hosted by Tunbridge & Royalton Democratic Committees, who welcome you.  Contact Henry Swayze for more information:  889-5556  swayze (at) pngusa (dot) net

Sustainable Energy Forum 2006, May 7-9 at the Marvin Center in Washington, DC, on the implications of global oil production constraints for climate and economic stability. Nate Hagens, of UVM's Gund Institute helped design and organize the event. Scientists, policymakers and advocates from government, environmental non-profits and academia will gather to discuss this year’s theme, “Peak Oil and the Environment.” For registration and information visit:  www.beyondpeak.org. Hosted by the University of Maryland’s Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development Program.

Local Living Economies Events in Burlington this June!
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies will hold its Annual Conference "Creating Sustainable Communities" June 8th - 10th in Burlington, VT. (Registration and more info:  www.livingeconomies.org)  A number of related events are being scheduled for the Burlington area - and here they are:

Open Collective 2006 for the local currency community - June 5-7:  Burlington, VT.  Join practitioners from around the world! Intended for those who are local currency practitioners or in the planning stages of a local currency system.  Consider attending some or all sessions of the 3-day practitioners’ Open Space collective from June 5-7, hosted in Charlotte, VT. Info and registration at http://ccit.wji.com/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=65 

Burlington Local Currencies Event!  A special Burlington-area potluck gathering of Vermont peakers interested in meeting each other and learning about local currencies is in the planning stages for the evening of Wednesday, June 7th.  If you are curious about local currency and want to get involved, this is the gathering for you!  Meet and greet others in Vermont who are learning about local currency.  The timing is intended to facilitate attendance at the BALLE “pre-conference” on June 8th.  Further details on location, time and overnight accommodations soon!  Please contact Cara at cltaussig (at) earthlink (dot) net to indicate your interest in attending the potluck.

Complementary Currencies: Money for Local Living Economies - June 8 (BALLE “Pre-Conference” on Complementary Currencies).  The "Money in Local Living Economies" pre-conference will briefly exlore the evolution of our current money and financial system, how it works and why it is detrimental to healthy local economies and communities.   The rest of the day will explore the world of "complementary currencies," visionary and practical monetary innovations that have arisen in response to these flaws inherent in our current system and the potential of these systems for stimulating local economies, increasing the circulation of wealth, developing loyalty to local and regional businesses, and empowering municipal governments.  $45 includes breakfast and lunch. Register through the general BALLE registration: http://www.livingeconomies.org/events/conference06/related  Seminar co-sponsored by the E.F. Schumacher Society and the Burlington Currency Project.


Under the Golden Dome
    Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius––and a lot of courage––to move in the opposite direction.
                                                                                                                         - attributed to E. F. Schumacher

Will Stevens, of ACORN (Addision County Relocalization Network) is running as an independent for the Addison-Rutland VT HOUSE seat that will soon be vacated by incumbent Rep. Mark Young, R-Orwell.  "If elected, he would like to be assigned to the House Agriculture Committee, where he believes he could be an effective voice for Vermont’s farmers during a time when fuel sources are becoming more expensive. Stevens believes Vermont farmers and consumers are going to have to turn more toward creating a viable, local economy to reduce dependency on foreign oil and out-of-state goods and services."  - Go Will!  See more about Will's views here:  http://www.addisonindependent.com/News/041006house.html  

Farmer Protection Act  (Submitted by Rural Vermont) The Vermont House voted on Apr. 26 to accept the Conference Committee compromise on the Farmer Protection Act. The vote was 77-63 in our favor. The floor debate was very heated, and lasted for several hours. THANK YOU to all who showed up for the debate and the vote. We still have a few steps to go to get to the Governor's desk. Next stop is the Senate, and then to the Governor.

Do not contact the Governor or Senators yet...we'll send out an alert when it is time for that. Meanwhile, visualize him signing the bill!  For a final version of the bill and a bill summary, visit www.ruralvermont.org.

Renewable Energy Vermont is the only organization dedicated solely to working toward increased renewable energy use in Vermont.  REV tracks and reports on legislative activities, and encourages us to contact our legislators to support these initiatives.  Read more about what they are currently tracking here:  http://www.revermont.org/legislation.htm  

VT Renewable Energy Briefs (VREB) is a free electronic newsletter offered by REV, and available to those interested in renewable energy in Vermont. Published monthly, the VREB is devoted to educating and informing renewable energy stakeholders, and the general public, about events and issues regarding renewable energy in Vermont.   To find our more:  http://www.revermont.org/newsletters.htm  

REV also publishes a separate monthly newsletter, the "VT RE News" for its members. The newsletter focuses closely on Vermont renewable energy issues, events, and happenings, with a special emphasis on legislative updates, business profiles, and the advancement of the Vermont renewable energy market.

Keep Track of what's happening with legislation in Montpelier:  http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/database2.cfm  

Vt Department of Public Service Energy Plan is scheduled to be updated by 2007 - second quarter. To get a leg up on what the Vt. Department of Public Service's Comprehensive Energy Plan looks like today, see http://publicservice.vermont.gov/pub/state-plans-compenergy.html .  


Quote of the Month
"The United States doesn't have the right to tell a third of humanity to go back to their bicycles because the party's over... Asking other countries to lay off the world's oil supply so America can continue to support its gas-guzzling Hummers doesn't really cut it."  
- How Dare They Use Our Oil, NYTimes Apr. 21st Editorial, archived on Apr. 21st at  http://energybulletin.net/15185.html

There's Only So Much Oil on the Ground
Artist: Tower Of Power
Album: Urban Renewal - 1974(!)

There's only so much oil on the ground
Sooner or later there won't be much around
Tell that to your kids while you driving downtown
That there's only so much oil on the ground

Can't cut loose without that juice
Can't cut loose without that juice
If we keep on like we doing things for sure
Will not be cool - It's a fact
We just ain't got sufficient fuel

There's only so much oil in the ground
Sooner or later there won't be none around
Alternate sources of power must be found
Cause there's only so much oil in the ground

There's only so much oil in the earth
It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
Something every little boy and girl should know since birth
That there's only so much oil in the ground

There's no excuse for our abuse
No excuse for our abuse
We just assume that we will not
Exceed the oil supply
But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry.


 Editorial
 Peak Spring?
by Annie Dunn Watson

 May is graduation time in many higher ed institutions across America.  In my little corner of academia, Burlington College in Burlington, VT, we are preparing to send our own new crop of graduates into the world.  We know that the diploma they grasp in their hands or tuck under an arm means a lot to them.  We also hope it will mean a lot to the communities they walk proudly into.  Many never "left" those communities, not in the traditional sense.  They have remained an active part of their families, friendship circles, and neighborhoods while pursuing their degrees; what has changed is not their location.  It is, perhaps more than anything else, their perspective that will never be the same.

Education and change go hand in hand.  The marriage between the two fuels personal commitment, increases our engagement with life, and helps us turn intentions into actions that make a difference wherever we go.  Education leads to re-cognition, a new way of holding information and evaluating its relevance and implications.  This ability to look and to understand is what readies us to contribute to positive social transformations.  The learning encounter shakes previous beliefs; having survived that, we are better prepared to step outside ourselves and be a force for good in the world.

If you've already read the list of suggestions created in the brainstorming session held on March 21st with Vt. legislators and members of the East Montpelier peak oil group, you have seen evidence of re-cognition at play.  In these lists, it is clear that learning is underway, and that the "learners" have been willing to be affected by what has been learned.  In doing so, they have gained a special sort of courage.  It is the same courage we hope our college graduates will take into society:  the courage to examine assumptions, and to act upon the knowledge acquired in doing so. This is what the world needs us all to do.

Christopher Miller, a Democrat from our neighboring state of Maine, has decided to run for Governor on a peak oil platform.  Imagine the courage and wisdom it takes to do that.  But our impact on the world need not stem from large actions alone.  As so many communities throughout Vermont are demonstrating, "the small and the bold" are equally important steps to take today; they often inspire the actions of those who, like candidate Miller, will take larger steps on behalf of those same communities tomorrow.

We are all now very much involved in an educational journey.  And, as such journeys often go, this one asks us to re-examine our values, redefine our expectations.  Perhaps, as Sarah Grillo writes, Peak Oil isn't such a bad thing. Perhaps as we assume responsibility for doing something about what is "wrong" with the world, and begin to address the needs of our home communities, we will indeed begin to create the world we want to live in, right here.  Tim Stevensen, our Guest Editorialist, offers reflections on what we might do to achieve this and why it is, in fact, the best thing to do. And the Mad River folks, like the folks from Tunbridge's Neighbors Helping Neighbors featured last month, demonstrate that being good neighbors is not in the least a lost art: holding group meetings that become "Sustainability Work Parties" is a practical movement toward creating a sustainable community, one homestead at a time.

The measured dose of hopefulness with which I greeted you last month has become a bit less measured; that is to say, the hope has unexpectedly grown.  Perhaps it has to do with the return of Persephone, daughter of the land and harbinger of Spring. World events certainly do not justify its growth, but the caring of the small, committed groups of people in so many communities across Vermont and elsewhere does invite a touch of celebration.  Such groups existed long before peak oil became a household word; and because of their existence, we may well survive - even thrive - in the days ahead.

As Vermont legislators encouraged us to do "the small and the bold," we realize that we are.  We are tackling that assignment in such a way as to model it for them to use in their own chambers.  If we, all of us, are willing to learn, and to share that learning with others, hope, like Persephone herself, may spring eternal after all.  

Sure feels like Spring.


Guest Editorial  
We’re On Our Own
by Tim Stevensen
"...people are increasingly looking to themselves and their fellow citizens for the answers to their lives.
They are creating the world they want to live in."

After the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing this past March 1st, the front page of the local paper featured a picture of an irate local citizen reading a statement that said, in part, "This meeting is a disingenuous attempt to make us think you’re giving us a chance at meaningful public participation." She was absolutely right, of course.

But as I read the story, I thought about another scenario. What if she—and, for that matter, the other, equally angry and worried people who attended this forum—decided not to come, in the first place? What if they demonstrated their contempt for the NRC by their absence, engaging in other, more satisfying activities that evening, while leaving the NRC facilitator to run his meeting before an empty theatre?

We can no longer afford to engage in the charade that our democracy has become. We need to acknowledge, and act upon what we all know to be true: that the game is rigged and that democracy is not working in our nation. As the NRC so perfectly exemplifies, government is the handmaiden of corporate interests, serving their needs while leaving us--the citizenry--to fend for ourselves. Whether it’s the failure to provide universal health care and an honest election, the assault on human rights and pursuit of global domination, or the refusal to address the pending catastrophes of global warming and peak oil, the corporate state is not something we can count on to be there for us. As Katrina so vividly demonstrated last August, we are basically on our own.

This has profound implications. Most importantly, it means that the world we seek can only be created by ourselves, through our own efforts and deeds. There is no way that we can reasonably or realistically count on the corporate state, and its agents, to do this for us, and this is true no matter how often we attend hearings or vote in the next election, e-mail our Congressman or march on Washington, engage in civil disobedience or get arrested. The evidence is too overwhelming for us to entertain illusions to the contrary any longer.

Therefore, it is critical that we also understand that continuing to participate in this fixed game of spurious democracy is to retard our efforts at advancing our visions of a better world. Not only does our participation legitimize and, hence, help perpetuate a corrupt system; more importantly, it distracts us from what we really need to be attending to.

What is required, instead, is for us to shift our focus from Them, out there, to ourselves, right here in our own towns and communities. We must cease our historical but outdated practice of blaming Them for what’s wrong, and of trying to get Them to do what we deem right. That is, we must stop looking to Them for solutions and, hence, making Them responsible for our lives. We need to assume this responsibility ourselves.

Specifically, we need to concentrate our time and energy on local projects that help to make us a stronger community in certain essential, inter-connected ways:
    * actively working to make local government a true democracy, one that is of, by, and for the people it represents;
    * creating local and regional networks and infrastructure of self-sufficiency around food, energy, transportation, and            other basic needs so as to become increasingly independent of the consumerist economy/culture we now import, and        better prepared for the profound changes in our way of life that are coming;
    * finally, building a true sense of community, one that restores the feeling of solidarity, neighborliness, and cooperation        of an earlier time, supplanting the alienation and mean-spiritedness that has come to characterize so much of                    contemporary social existence.

Though modest, these efforts have enormous liberating potential. The pro-active energies they release and sustain cannot be exaggerated. No longer mired in the self-defeating nature of the older model of activism, our efforts have a salutary effect—for us, certainly, as we become empowered when we take our lives into our own hands. And on others as well, who at another time might have been put off by our anger and adversarial approach to shared concerns, but who are now attracted by our positive, more constructive approach.

By its very nature, practicing democracy, living in neighborly, cooperative social arrangements, and creating local, sustainable systems and networks are inherently satisfying, touching as they do some of our most basic needs as human beings. In contrast to so much of the present, where our lives are consumed with jobs we don’t want to be doing so that we can pay the monthly interest on products that are already part of next week’s garbage, we are doing what we really want to be doing. We are beginning to live lives that make sense.

True, this can only be done through effort. Taking our lives into our own hands requires work and commitment. It cannot be engaged in as a virtual reality activity. Real sweat is involved here. The democracy we seek, the self-sufficient, cooperative communities we want to live in can only be realized through an engaged, active citizenry.

Fortunately, we live in a region where we are not starting from square one. Already there are many individuals and groups here that are involved in efforts at taking control of their lives. This newspaper is an example. So is Brattleboro Community Radio. And there are folks working to keep this a town of locally-owned businesses, spreading the "eat local" message, supporting local farmers, becoming active in local government, organizing community gardens or starting a local currency. And these are only some.

Though the projects and activities are varied, the people involved all share a common approach. Rather than blaming and complaining about Them, these people are increasingly looking to themselves and their fellow citizens for the answers to their lives. They are creating the world they want to live in.

Tim is a founding member of Post Oil Solutions, Windham County.


 Articles
Candidate for Governor of Maine Runs on Peak Oil Platform
From http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/yorkstar/03022006/news/90452.htm

Christopher F. Miller, a Democrat from Gray, is campaigning for governor on an all-inclusive energy platform.

“My campaign is about getting the state to prepare for oil running out,” said Miller in a recent interview at the Coast Star office. “The longer we wait to prepare for that — if we haven’t built those windmills, we’re not going to have any way to build them. What’s the price of fossil energy? How do you price something that’s running out?”

In new windmill technology, for example, the blades are so big and turn slowly that they no longer kill birds, an early objection to wind power.

“They can deal with much less wind and generate a lot more power,” he said.

The state has to be thinking about oil depletion now and working on it now, he stressed.

“The more energy efficient we can get now, the longer we have to network,” Miller said.

Challenging Democratic Gov. John E. Baldacci, Miller, 51, has experience on political campaigns. He worked with the Dennis Kucinich for President campaign, and now with the campaigns of Jean Hay Bright for the U.S. Senate and Dexter Kamilewicz for the Congressional 1st District.

Miller said he doesn’t think about whether he can beat his opponent.

“I’ll find that out on Election Day,” he said.

His goal in the race is the local Democratic economy, against a backdrop of energy prices that “are going through the roof” and soon to be unavailable, and about fairness. “Those are Democratic values of making the economy work for the average Joe.”

“I’m focusing on that theme, and if in fact that means that I win the primary and the election, that’s the outcome of it,” Miller said. “I’m not one who believes in strategizing for the 50 percent plus one vote.”

“We need to kick this growth habit before it is too late, while Maine still has the strength of community and rural infrastructure to do it with thought and grace,” he states in a campaign letter. “Every day the sun shines on 21 million acres of Maine. That is our energy income.

We’re at the point now where we’re over the hump of peak oil now, but they’re predicting more growth. Still the solution now is more growth. Where do we get the energy to produce that?

“Our economy is based on growth. You have to destroy things to create them again. About 94 percent of what we make in an industrial society is trashed in three months. We make things just to destroy things — just to profit. It’s astounding. The war is an extreme example.”

Rather than send Maine’s National Guard to another war to find the cheap energy and natural resources that feed this growth, Miller said he would call the Guard back here to lay rails to build an interurban railroad, if the steel is available.

“That’s where we need to put our societal energies,” Miller said.

Calling for fairness, he said that to live “within our means and under our own control, we will have to learn to share fairly a smaller economic pie.”

Fairness depends on a democratic economy. If Maine is to build a democratic economy, we must break up the centralized public bureaucracy that has evolved to serve corporate power, organized money, and the established political class, Miller said.


The Inside Scoop:  A tale from the Microbiological World
by Colin McClung

Back in 1996 I went to a lecture in California hosted by Oregon Tilth. It started with the lecturer explaining the diversity principle found in Broccoli: “When you look at Broccoli in your mega store or really any supermarket, you are witnessing a fashion statement. It is individually arranged and displayed fully formed with very few if any slight blemishes. This is a conscious design and marketing image that the consumer is not only used to but has come to expect. Perfection in the organic world. Absolute order driven by marketing sensibilities dictating the carbon based world. This just isn’t the case.

This system is an inevitably futile and arrogant denial of the laws of physics, biology and chemistry. If you think you are unaffected by such forces, why don’t you buy that bruised fruit or that purple potato or that corn with a worm in it, or that fruit that may smell fine but ”just doesn’t look right.”  Markets may actually develop in the opposite direction of your natural sense at work. If the worm is still alive and eating, the apple apparently is pretty good eatin.’ I get more concerned if the worm has eaten the apple and dies or worse off, dies just hanging out on the skin. Image has dictated that we put our money and efforts into yields that look healthy regardless of what healthy may really be or what it really looks like. People buy big strawberries with no taste because they’re BIG. They don’t feel they are getting their money’s worth buying the small organic ones that cost more but have retained the FLAVOR and NUTRIENTS not the WATER!

Back to Broccoli. If broccoli plants of differing types are planted in a close enough proximity, their root systems will begin to intertwine, “Make Love”, and exchange genetic information. From this exchange, new strains of broccoli are created on a DNA level. This type of recombinant DNA formation is called “Horizontal” strain based on its ability to fight viral strains that may potentially destroy it. It may make for some unsightly looking broccoli that doesn’t fit the corporate mono-cropped image of what broccoli you have been marketed and come to expect. In other words it has not gained your trust and so subsequently it has not gained corporate loyalty. If you are never even given a choice, you probably never would develop the necessary aesthetic eye to revel in its diverse beauty through its function.

Function is not as powerful a force as image. All nutrients can become subdued to serve the need to present the proper image. Healthy broccoli is viewed as green, almost proudly florescent green as if to defy nature and stand out among its competitors. It is firm and mostly ‘crown’, which is the early stages of its flowering (nobody wants to pay for stalk! – which is where most of the nutrients, such as calcium, are found). So large mono-crop farms are driven by manufactured forms of liaise faire to bring you what you demand and may know as your only choice. A single broccoli type or two may be an attractive match. This type is grown over and over again. A lack of diverse recombinant DNA leaves a strain to immerge as a “Vertical” resistance model. With little to no diversity in its DNA strain, a multitude of pesticides and herbicides may be employed to maintain the proper look and color to survive the growth, storage and shipping process.

Even the visual image of a vertical wall compared to a long horizontal base seems to suggest which is more stable. But I’ll give you another image to really bring the point home. What makes the vertical strain so much more vulnerable to disease is in how disease works to take over an organism. Consider a virus like a burglar that has come to a cull de sac on Broccoli Avenue. It’s gonna look for any opening to the houses on the block (the houses represent a plant's disease resistant capabilities in its DNA strain). First it might check the combination lock on the front door. This is likened to the sequence or code that, if figured, will allow the disease to enter and multiply. A vertical strain has the same combination for all the houses on that block. You figure one out, you have access to all.

Viruses have survived since the dawn of time because they are supreme “safe crackers."  But a horizontal strain has a diversity of genetic information in its code. Each house on the block has a different combination. It is less susceptible to a blight or outright robbery of its function. So the market, in its drive for image, has homogenized our future diversity and we are venerable to even a virus’ weakest attack. Worst yet, viruses become stronger in the face of external application of pesticides and herbicides. They start right to work on their DNA structure. Stronger, smarter thieves and dumber locks. A great robbery is taking place.

I thought to myself:  Has imagery itself become homogenized in the same way? Aren’t the images of the beautiful and rich splashed before us in magazines as impulse buys at the check out isles the same market driven strategy? What is attractive is told and then sold. You have to feel and look a certain way just like that broccoli stalk….no bruises, limpness or lack of color. Firm, bright, marketable! That’s what makes everybody comfortable.

Colin McCLung does a lecture series in Shamms Mortier's classes at BC and CCV each semester. He works toward solutions, small or large, to ecological and social injustice issues in our day.  To respond to this article, contact him (put article title in subject line) at: colinmcclung (at) hotmail (dot) com


Student's Corner:  Well, Maybe Peak Oil Isn’t Such a Bad Thing
by Sarah Grillo, Burlington College
 
A few weeks ago, I was pushing a shopping cart through the produce section of my local grocery store, when I noticed something strange that I had never before been aware of. I must have been absent-mindedly zoning out, which I do on occasion when I have to run errands.  My eyes were gazing at some spot slightly higher than the rows and rows of fruits and vegetables, when suddenly my view snapped into focus on a sign I found both ironic and depressing.  Scrawled in thick, block letters above the vegetables, it read: “Farmer’s Market.”  Odd, I thought, considering it was nothing of the sort.  I looked around some more.  Over the bakery, I saw, was another sign, which I think was meant to look like it came from some quaint village bakery, though it appeared as counterfeit as the produce section’s insignia.  The sign read: “Fantasia’s Cakes.”  Interesting, I thought, considering probably no one named “Fantasia” worked in the grocery store bakery.  Over at the deli, I was not surprised to find “Village Deli” in block letters over the meats and assorted salads.

What a sham.

I should note that this local grocery store I mentioned is actually a national chain called Hannaford’s, though it is in fact one of only two grocery stores within a five mile radius of where I live, the other being a Shaw’s.  And indeed, there are other grocery stores not too far off in the next town over, but they are likewise either Hannaford’s or Shaw’s.  No doubt they too have faux-signs over their delis that say something along the lines of “Village Deli” or even “Papa Romano’s Family Delicatessen,” which may seem a bit over the top but is regardless just as fake and oxymoronic—emphasis on the moronic—as any of these big business faux-signs. 

Maybe no one else notices them, but I have to wonder, have we really become so ignorant as a culture that we would accept such falseness in our surroundings?  Well, to answer my own question, yes.  Which brings me back to the title of my paper: peak oil isn’t such a bad thing.  At the very least, it will open our eyes—hopefully—to our own bogus culture.
I think the town I live in, Williston, really does justice to the notion of our bogus culture, at least by Vermont’s standards.  What other town boasts a Wal-Mart across from a Home Depot next to a Petsmart and down the street from a Best Buy?  One of our more recent big-box additions came in the form of Maple Tree Place, a set of large, brick buildings designed to mimic the feel of a town center and failing miserably.  Somehow, the addition of brick and colonial-style entrances is supposed to key us in on the fact that these are somehow small-town big-box retailers, making it a small-town Christmas Tree Shop and a small-town Staples.  See the brick?  That’s how you know they’re local.

On top of all this is the insistence on a bit of green-space.  According to the falsely-environmental concept of green-space, any retail store being built must provide a minimum of grassy spots and shrubbery to somehow balance out the loss of land.  At the same time, it is believed, the bushes serve to remind us of quainter days gone by, when we used to see fields and trees instead of Starbucks and Botox clinics.  The epitome of this green-space logic is the sprawling patch of mud and grass that stands as the town-square of the Maple Tree shopping plaza.  Surrounded on all sides by parking and businesses, this area was recently considered for a landscape design contest in an attempt to truly capture the feel of small-town phoniness.  The irony is that this green-space serves no purpose but to reinforce our own delusions; it’s not as if there are deer grazing on this patch of land squashed between a movie theater and a Quiznos.  If anything, it is a hindrance to the driver, who must search in vain for a parking space on a busy Saturday afternoon, all the while cursing this prime piece of land for being a green-space, and thus being ineligible to be paved over in the pursuit of better parking.

Back to Peak Oil.  What does this mean for my big-box community?  I have tried to explain it to my boss, who is an avid fan of Target but avoids Wal-Mart like the plague.  “Mike,” I have told him, “all of this is unsustainable.  Even a small spike in the price of oil could lead to huge consequences for all these retailers and grocery stores whose merchandise must travel thousands of miles—by truck, by plane, by ship—to reach their shelves.  Don’t you see that this can’t go on forever?” 

“But Target is just so much classier than Wal-Mart, that’s why I shop there,” he replies, and I can see that Mike has missed my point entirely.  While it is true that Target is indeed classier than Wal-Mart, they are both one in the same when it comes to Peak Oil.  They, along with their cousins K-Mat and Sam’s Club, will ultimately fall faster than you can say “Holy shit!  Twelve packs of Fig Newton’s for a dollar!”

Good riddance, I say.  As Jim Kunstler once said: “What's bad about sprawl is not its uniformity, but that it is so uniformly bad.”  We need the Peak to wake our culture up from this imitation of the Good Life, because it isn’t good that we all shop at the same places no matter where in America we live.  It isn’t good that we don’t know where our clothes were made, whether they were sewn by well-paid Americans or by Bangladeshi children.  It isn’t good that we pave over our fields and forests and then plant a few shrubs around big-box retailers in penance.  I could go on, but it’s all just too negative.  Together, we must focus on the positive: Peak Oil.  This catastrophic change will usher in a new era of living, in which notions of the Good Life will change.  Instead of: “Golly, I can buy a new home theater system, pick up my prescriptions, and do my groceries all within the same store!” it will be “Gee, I can heat my home this week—that’s cool.”  Humbling, I think.  And, perhaps, more than a little bit necessary if we are to ever save the soul of our culture from the greedy hands of the big-box stores and suburban development. 

So yeah, maybe Peak Oil isn’t such a bad thing.

Sarah Grillo is a student at Burlington College with a keen awareness of and interest in peak oil issues, geopolitics, localization efforts, and sustainability.  She is also a very fine visual artist!


Doing It with Bio in the Spring
Courtesy Caledonia Record
Goodrich's Maple Farm in Cabot is firing its evaporators with biodiesel this year.

"I've been pondering it for a long time," said owner Glenn Goodrich, who is also vice president of the Vermont Sugar Makers Association.

He got his chance this year through a pilot project with the Vermont Biofuel Association, which is providing about $800 in grant money to offset the cost difference between biodiesel and petroleum. Biodiesel is made from animal fats, soybeans, sunflowers, canola and waste cooking oil.

"To me it makes sense to support U.S. agriculture instead of oil countries," Goodrich said.  To read more:   http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/local_news/story/d53a62f11


Methanol:  An Energy Carrier with Potential
From Ira Flatow’s interview with Dr George Olah, Nobel laureate and author of just released Beyond Coal & Oil.
Submitted by Henry Swayse, our energy sleuth.

Methanol can replace oil and gasoline at the gas station to fuel our cars, in industry to manufacture plastics and pharmaceuticals.  It is a convenient-to-handle* energy carrier.  That is, it takes energy input to make it; it is not an energy source.  As with hydrogen, lots of energy sources can be used to make methanol.  Eventually the sustainable energy sources: solar, wind, water, tidal action will be used, but in the meantime while those are ramping up we can use natural gas and coal.  The final twist to a methanol economy is that it can be converted directly into electricity by a fuel cell; even better if you have an energy source - you can run the fuel cell in reverse and generate methanol from electricity while removing carbon from the air or from a smoke stack. Hopefully the energy source is non carbon.  In this way we could make products and clean our air of greenhouse gasses at the same time.

You should be able to listen to the April 29, 2006 program (Ira Flatow’s interview with Dr George Olah) online by going to NPR Talk of the Nation/Science Friday/methanol.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2002/release_2002_94.html  - Will take you to one of many methanol fuel cell announcements.

http://www.methanol.org/ - The Methanol Institute (Arlington, VA)

*(ed note:  unlike hydrogen, methanol is less prone to disappearing acts, and shows more promise re: storage - but it's not without its challenges.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol  for a quick summary.)


CVPS Cow Power™ is on the moooove
The Ultimate in Recycling: Four more farms plan CVPS Cow Power™ generators, receive grants
Submitted by CVPS' Steve Costello - (802) 747-5427 

Four Vermont farms received CVPS Renewable Development Fund grant offers totaling $666,000 to defray the cost of building new farm-based electric generating systems to support the state’s largest renewable energy program, Central Vermont Public Service announced today.  Farms in Sheldon, Fairlee, West Pawlet and St. Albans will receive the grants from the CVPS Renewable Development Fund, set up in 2004 to encourage farm owners to develop new renewable generation and provide new manure management options through CVPS Cow Power™.

“These grants will help develop 8,400 megawatt-hours of clean renewable energy right here in Vermont,” CVPS President Bob Young said.  “That’s enough energy to supply 1,395 average homes using 500 kWh per month.” 
CVPS Cow Power™ is the nation’s only direct farm-to-consumer renewable energy program, working with dairy farmers who want to process their cow manure and other farm waste to generate electricity.  More than 2,500 CVPS customers have enrolled in the program so far, which provides farms with new manure management options, environmental benefits and income.  The process reduces emissions of methane, which is roughly 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas trapping heat in the atmosphere.

“We are very pleased about the continued growth of Cow Power.  This is a terrific triple play – additional renewable power sources, environmental benefits and generating additional revenue for our vital farming community,” said Public Service Department Commissioner David O’Brien.  “These projects are small steps in resolving our energy future.”

The four farms include:
- Green Mountain Dairy Farm in Sheldon, owned by Brian and Bill Rowell, with 1,250 cows expected to produce 1.7 million kilowatt-hours per year;
- Montagne Farms in St. Albans, two farms owned by Dave Montagne, with 1,200 cows expected to produce 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year;
- Newmont Farms LLC in Fairlee, owned by Walter and Margaret Gladstone, with 1,020 cows expected to produce 1.4 million kilowatt-hours per year;
- Deer Flats Farm in West Pawlet, owned by Dick and Rich Hulett, who plan to use surplus crops and 210 cows to produce 3.6 million kilowatt-hours per year.
The farms need Vermont Public Service Board approval to interconnect the generators, but all hope to be on-line later this year.

CVPS’s first Cow Power producer, Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport, has been generating energy for over a year, serving as an example to other farms.  The Audet family, which operates Blue Spruce, says they have a new revenue stream, eliminated over $60,000 in bedding costs annually by using dry solids left over from the digestion process, and substantially cut fuel bills by using waste heat from the generator to heat the office, the milking parlor, and hot water used for washing the milking equipment.

“Cow Power has done everything we’d hoped it would do for us, and more,” Earl Audet said.  “It’s given us a new income stream, reduced our costs, provided us options for handling our manure, and virtually eliminated the odor of manure spreading.”

CVPS customers can sign up to get all, half or a quarter of their electrical energy through CVPS Cow Power™. Customers pay a premium of 4 cents per kilowatt hour for CVPS Cow Power™, which goes to participating farm-producers, to purchase renewable energy credits when enough farm energy isn’t available, or to the CVPS Renewable Development Fund.  Farm-producers are also paid 95 percent of the market price for the electricity sold to CVPS.

To generate the biogas fuel, manure is held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow’s stomach, 101 degrees. Bacteria digest the volatile components of the manure, creating biogas while killing pathogens and weed seeds.  The biogas, which is part methane, fuels an engine/generator, and the energy is put onto CVPS’s power lines for delivery to customers.

“The Cow Power program is a great example of Vermonters working together to reduce pollution and help the Vermont economy,” said Sandra Levine of the Conservation Law Foundation, a member of the CVPS Renewable Development Fund’s executive committee.  “The ingenuity of many Vermonters has made this a success, and it shows how promising renewable energy is for our future.”


As the Crow Flies:  Reports from Around the State
 VPON Holds Second Gathering, April 8th, 2006
Present:  Anita (Brookfield), Henry and Cornelia (Tunbridge), Moshe and Annie (Essex), Mark and Greg (Burlington), Carl (East Montplier), Dennis and Nils (Mad River), Lee (Cabot), Allyssa and Netaka (ACORN).  Guest Presenter:  Ed Delhagen of Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, on community activism.

1.  An informal check in during lunch got the meeting underway.  As participants introduced themselves, they also mentioned something of their areas of expertise.  It’s always inspiring to hear the diversity of knowledge and experience a group contains.  Environmental science, agriculture, college-level teaching and administration, physics and quantitative thinking, mathematical ecology, water systems and waste water treatment, nutrient recycling, low cost power generation, farm inspections, agricultural and energy surveying, urban issues, permaculture, gardening, organic sheep raising, maple, grazing management, renewable energy consulting, activism, ancient living skills, geology, power systems project management (renewables and non-renews), lobbying, biofuels, and more… what a group!  And Anita is growing some coffee plants… we'll keep you posted on her results.

2.  March 21st meeting with representatives from the VT legislature.  In attendance at this informational and brainstorming meeting were:  Al Boright (Legislative Council), Gina Campoli (Agency of Transportation), Mary Hooper (Mayor of Montpelier), Karen Horn (League of Cities and Towns), Scott Johnstone (Chittenden County Municipal Planning Organization), Tony Klein (House Natural Resources Committee), Scudder Parker (gubernatorial candidate), Bart Westdijk (Mediated Modeling), and David Zuckerman (House Agriculture Committee).

Minutes from that meeting are featured above, in "Under the Golden Dome" section.  Of particular note are the lists generated by the brainstorming groups regarding what Vermonters might do to prepare for a low-energy future.  Carl’s group in East Montpelier hosted the event. 

Working with Politicians and Community Leaders is an area of interest many in VPON have, seen to be a compliment to the local and regional efforts underway.  The question is, how to go about it??  Educate, participate, pressure.  A quote from FDR offers a possible strategy:  “Okay, you’ve convinced me; now go out and put pressure on me!”  Carl’s group, in its effort to educate and involve state leaders, has helped pave the way.

Regarding education, a request was voiced that someone write a book on “Peak Oil for Dummies.”  All agreed that while the name leaves a lot to be desired, the “handle” provided by the “dummies” series may be a plus.  Rumor has it that Greg Pahl of ACORN may be working on just such a book (though no one could say for certain that he is considering using that title).  (Ed note:  It's actually about community preparedness for the long emergency... more on that when Greg is ready to let us know.)

3.  Ed Delhagen – Shaping the Conversation, Grassroots Activism
Ed led a discussion on how groups like VPON can shape a public conversation on Peak Oil and Sustainability effectively --- asking critical questions, creating connections, and being ready to “shape under duress” – i.e., being prepared to help when the systems go down, and people are scared, in denial, or just plain overwhelmed.

Strategy:  work with those who “get it” --- look for the opening. Awareness can be linked to common purpose… look for an audience that is vested in life economy – look for people interested in finding/creating a new and more vital/viable system, rather than invested in a death economy/old system/the way things are.

Develop ability to see the issue from the perspective of those you’d speak with; for instance, what’s the business angle?  How does this affect health care?  Perhaps the legislature is focusing on health care right now; but sooner or later, peak oil will be on the table – have a statewide system ready to be mobilized, activated, focused on education and providing that “pressure” FDR was talking about.  Identify common interests in Peak Oil and related issues.  Build on common interests as you create the connections.  

Who are the “clusters of allies?”  For those who need more information, provide that boost.  A key to the conversation, particularly among like-minded groups and open-minded officials, is to say, “And even if Peak Oil never happens, here’s why this (sustainable jobs, local economy, renewable energy, etc.) would be a good idea…”

Connect with decision makers:  who is at the table (stakeholders), and how do we keep them coming back?  Invitational events, results-oriented, town meeting (Step into your town!), keep town meeting strong, by asking what’s right for town meeting and keeping such issues on the agenda; develop forums that can be used prior to town meetings, perhaps more neighborhood-based, e.g., monthly Neighborhood Planning Assemblies in Burlington. 

A friendly audience is a start (as with Carl’s legislative group meeting).  Opposition can emerge even in “friendly” settings:  “No need to debate right off… there are legitimate
grounds for debate, but let’s focus on this as a possible action.”

Ed asked,  “How can people create templates to spread the information and resources quickly?”  There are many networks with compatible interests in Vermont (many are listed on the Vermont Resources page at www.vtpeakoil.net)  Nofa, Renewable Energy Vt., Vt. Biofuels are just a few.  Go through existing groups – what interest would their group have in Peak Oil?  (Just an FYI – as webmistress, I often get letters from folks listing events, or listed on the Vt. Resources page of the website.  I invite them to think about how our efforts support one another; these networking efforts could bridge to a greater organized effort when we are ready to attempt that.)

Money:  Volunteers are great, but money would help with research, info, speakers, coordination, and grants.  Information follows channels, and flows upward.  Voice and money line up!  A grant-writing task force for the VPON effort could be useful, even though regional groups are applying for grants for their particular projects.

Paradigm Shift – how and when do people change?
The limits of the current paradigm may be known, but hard to accept;
Learn to meet people “where they’re at” (see Lee Blackwell’s guest editorial, Where Do We Go From Here, VPON March archive);
People want to shift to something that will work; show them how it will work, and how it benefits them to make the changes;
See the opening – exploit that opening!  Find the common ground, the way to present to your audience; for example, “Sustainable Business” -
Support local economy and businesses;
Local business might prefer to detach from bigger businesses; help them find the benefit, the connection between their interests and the issue.

Laws, policies and resources ($$$) impact thinking about change.  Resources include: people, energy, businesses, groups, local institutions.

In closing, Ed mentioned that Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund works to cultivate a sustainable economy, through grant making, leveraging dollars, allowing groups to do sustainable business development.   For businesses to benefit from alliance with VSJF, they must be, or become, sustainable.  VSJF helps grow markets for their businesses, facilitates networking so they can reorganize and become more sustainable.  VSJF offers information and strategies for sustainable business entrepreneurs in agriculture, energy, forest products, tourism, and projects like canning cooperatives, seed “oil” agriculture.

4.  Open Space:  After the break, members gathered in small, self-selected groups to discuss the following topics; Lee Blackwell submitted these summaries, collected during our closing exercise:

Agriculture - Talked about the importance of supporting any research (David Timmons) that’s being done right now in Vt. about assessing our ability to feed ourselves and working toward answering some important questions:  What do we export, what do we import? What's the energy situation on our farms, what are the energy alternatives, and what's the timetable for a transition to renewables and animal traction?  What will a Sustainable nutritious Vt. diet look like?   What's the land base and can we really support our present population with our remaining farmland?  A subcommittee will work to create an opportunity to both address the issue above and to do some re-framing (a la George Lakoff) of Sustainable Agriculture in order to communicate more effectively with all parts of our society in Vt.

Sustainable Community - Nils will continue to implement, test, and refine his Regional Self-Sufficiency Resources Survey and after completion will post it on the VPON website as a resource for everyone.

Local Renewable Energy - Discussed the importance of continuing resource assessments, lobbying for a State Energy Policy, and stressing the importance of efficiency.  “Energy” is on the legislature’s agenda in the coming year.  There are currently 50 bills in the house or senate relating to energy issues.

Money - This was mainly a discussion about local currencies, and in that light there was some talk of supporting the Randolph local currency project. There was also a decision to get a meeting together of VPON folks to makes some steps toward contacting an investor who might fund a salaried VPON position.  Netaka will follow through on this.  The Burlington Currency Project exists as a model of how a local currency can be cultivated.  Contact Cara Taussig cltaussig@earthlink.net for more information.

12 Step Educational / Information / Outreach - This group envisions a future conference with a VT focus and  contacting other organizations working along the same lines with the hope of coming together on this effort.  Funding will also be explored.  The group will continue to discuss possibilities, and report back toVPON in June.

5.  Next Meeting:  It was determined that the statewide network would like to continue meeting on an “as needed” basis (there was a preference stated for “seasonal” meetings, but folks felt that there is a lot afoot right now, and a meeting might be warranted in mid-June).  Members of all VT groups are encouraged to send one or two reps if possible.  The date Saturday, June 17th, has tentatively been set, with a plan for a picnic following the meeting.  All you VPON closet musicians, remember to bring your instruments!

- submitted by Annie, with help from Lee, both of whom had a great time being with everyone again.


Second Tuesdays (East Montpelier)
Rubbing Elbows with the Reps
A group of concerned and peak-aware East Montpelierites convened a number of people familiar with how to move the levers of state and local governments on March 21, 2006 to discuss how to prepare Vermont for diminishing oil supplies. Particular attention was paid to ensuring food security—when oil prices make it difficult to import food from California, Florida, Mexico, and other warmer places—heating homes, and transportation. The people who attended included:

Al Boright (Legislative Council), Gina Campoli (Agency of Transportation), Mary Hooper (Mayor of Montpelier), Karen Horn (League of Cities and Towns), Scott Johnstone (Chittenden County Municipal Planning Organization), Tony Klein (House Natural Resources Committee), Scudder Parker (gubernatorial candidate), Bart Westdijk (Mediated Modeling), David Zuckerman (House Agriculture Committee).

After a presentation on peak oil and its possible consequences, the participants broke into two groups to brainstorm on what to do in Vermont to prepare for diminishing oil supplies. After that, the groups came together again to suggest the most important actions to members of the Vermont Peak Oil Network, a loosely knit coalition of local groups around the state. The following lists convey the groups’ ideas.

Peak Oil Brainstorming Ideas: Group 1
1. Evaluate current activities that will help prepare Vermont for a more costly energy future, activies that are taking place under different labels than “peak oil” (e.g., sustainability, etc.):  redouble/redefine/redirect them
2. Describe these current activities (above) for the public in more compelling ways, so people see the necessity of focusing on peak oil.
3. Increase parking fees and costs of creating new parking facilities
4. Pay for public transportation from sources other than property tax
5. Increase the width of highway shoulders and sweep them, to allow for safe biking (and include many other safe biking measures)
6. Create an “Energy Corps” to go door to door, counseling people on how to weatherize, conserve energy, reduce their bills
7. Add peak oil to the Vermont educational standards, so that a unit will be included in the mainstream elementary, middle and high school curricula
8. Give consumers the information they need to make better vehicle purchasing choices:  efficiency, fuel mileage, etc.
9. Tax vehicles on engine size (displacement)
10. Press the philosophy, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
11. Introduce fully-loaded life-cycle pricing as a matter of public policy
12. Mandate labeling and/or introduce certifications based on life-cycle impact
13. Realign federal transportation funding so as to support mass transit
14. Create denser housing
15. Steeply tax housing permits based on size
16. Promote telecommuting
17. Keep local schools
18. Adopt a 50-100-year view in public planning
19. Stress mixed uses in community planning
20. Create a legislative study committee on peak oil
21. Stop agricultural subsidies
22. Create neighborhood networks for services
23. Provide tax incentives for renewables
24. Create a peak oil major at University of Vermont
25. Support local economies
26. Animal power
27. Adopt instant runoff voting

Peak Oil Brainstorming Ideas: Group 2
1. Invest in efficiency
2. Invest in efficiency in downtowns, with incentives
3. Series of competitions of a community approach to dealing with peak oil – with accounting for larger picture benefits
4. Education – a campaign of leadership with the theme “oil is not cool.”
5. Marketing campaign that declares war on oil use
6. Education – teach/understand impacts of our actions
7. Peak Oil department of government
8. Create a Vermont Energy Czar
9. Plan for local food production – local, regional and statewide
10. Develop community garden network
11. Competition for local food production in community
12. Come up with a new name for Peak Oil that avoids polarization
13. Develop good life-cycle costing for sustainable fuels and energy systems
14. Get serious about non-car-based living
15. Implement biomass district energy systems in Montpelier and Burlington and investigate for elsewhere
16. Restructure energy utilities to make efficiency primary
17. Expand access to Efficiency Vermont (EVT)
18. Expand EVT to include renewable energy; fund EVT adequately
19. Develop programs for municipal energy savings
20. Install more wood pellet systems and production facility
21. Develop improved life cycle assessment for renewable energy systems
22. Create an EVT for transportation – “Transport Vermont”
23. Fund more bike paths for actual transportation – beyond recreation
24. Provide local renewable energy for emergency services, implement “passive survivability” in buildings (buildings themselves robust enough to work well without external energy sources)
25. Inspire with positive examples of energy-efficient living
26. Develop Vermont businesses in manufacturing renewable energy equipment
27.  Consider climate change in state regulatory proceedings and rules
28. Transform NIMBYism into PIMBYism – Please In My Back Yard!
29. Agency of Natural Resources revisit ridgetop development policy
30. Support organizations that buy locally
31. Improve and develop fiber optic networks to improve access to internet
32. Provide an updated information source and information exchange on state of the art retrofits/technologies including assessment of best uses of last oil
33. Get rid of tax structure that supports SUV’s and other inefficiencies

Suggested Actions for Vermont Peak Oil Network
1. Develop marketing campaign to make oil-free lifestyle cool
2. Develop “Energy Corps” like Peace Corps or Youth Conservation Corps
3. Communicate about “investing in our future,” not scarcity or doing without
4. Develop skills network for skills necessary in a post-peak world
5. Systematize approaches to deep energy retrofits
6. Encourage civic engagement in agencies, programs that are already working toward these goals
7. Massive awareness campaign, with particular outreach to younger people.
8. Do a combination of the small and the bold

For more information, contact Carl Etnier carl (at) etnier (dot) net

Post Oil Solutions (Windham County)
Post Oil Solutions is a Windham County group working to advance cooperative, sustainable communities in an age of global climate change and declining fossil fuels.  They meet in Brattleboro on the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month.  For more information, email postoil(dot)vt(at)gmail(dot)com, or call (802) 869-2141.  POS has a number of initiatives underway.  
 
Community Gardens: In addition to the community garden being planned, a cooperative garden is also being looked into on a 2nd sight that would grow 2-5 items for the Drop In Center, the Senior Center, or something of that nature. A bio-intensive workshop, led by Tom Fugate, will be held 3 June at one of the sites.

"Eat Local"  The "Eat Local" pledge campaign continues in area stores with close to 1000 signatures gathered. Tabling will resume when the Farmers Market starts up again this month, with plans for full-page newspaper ad and press release sometime in June.

The Localvores sub-committee has been gathering information on locally-produced food, in preparation for organizing an effort at eating only food grown within a 100 mile radius later this summer.  A very exciting new initiative, with great potential around building both food sustainability in our region, as well as community in the years ahead began with the formation of a "CSA in Every Town" (of Windham Co.) sub-committee.

Health Care:  Have held 3 mini seminars on post oil health care, featuring talks on nourishing tonics, and herbs for colds and flu.

Website: We're hopeful that our website will be launched this spring.  Website designers (members of POS) are being paid through a combination of money and barter--a CSA-type arrangement.  Group is still debating on what it wants for its logo.

Fund Raising:  a 5K race is being organized for September, under the slogan, "Burn Fat, Not Oil."   Other activities being considered are a benefit contra dance, a benefit concert, screenings of The Power of Community, and a seed/plant/tool exchange in the fall.

(Ed note:  Initiatives on Energy and Sustainability Policy, Putting Food By, Ride Sharing, Education, Community Organizing, and Social Networking continue. We'll keep you posted as we hear more.)
  ACORN - Addison County Relocalization Network
ACORN is a cooperative response to an energy-constrained future. Our mission is to revitalize our local economy to help our communities provide sustainable sources of food, water, energy, employment and other essential resources, and to promote conservation and a healthy environment.

ACORN meets on the fourth Thursday of each month, usually at the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury. Currently, they are discussing the formation of a Renewable Energy Cooperative, Local Food supply and more.  Meetings are informative and participatory.  ACORN periodically screens End of Suburbia and hosts a discussion group after the film.

For more information about ACORN, contact Greg at gpahl (at) sover (dot) net


CPON:  Cabot Peak Oil Network
CPON has decided to focus on helping develop our local Farmers Market this summer, and to begin inviting other people into the group by having parties where we don't attend to our normal agenda, but have some type of discussion instead. We are also beginning to interface with the town around starting a Cabot Newspaper. One of our members is a writer. For more information about CPON, contact Lee:  leeb (at) pivot (dot) net


Chittenden County Peak Oil Group
A group with representatives from Burlington, Charlotte, Essex, and Richmond began developing in March, and welcomes your input and participation.  Education and outreach, work on food security and localization, Peak Oil book displays, letters to and questions for local politicians, local currency and other initiatives are being discussed or are in the works. They are holding their next meeting on Thursday, May 4th, at 7 to 9 p.m., at the CEDO Conference Room, 2nd floor (above City Market/Onion River Co-op); Enter from sidewalk at 82 S. Winooski Ave, Burlington, VT.  For more information, e-mail ccpeakoil (at) yahoo (dot) com
 

Mad River Post-Carbon
Meets third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m., with a topical discussion or event to kick off each meeting. For more information:  tfugate (at) madriver (dot) com
 
NEWS DISCUSSION Smiling with my hands in the dirt,
- Nils.
 

Columns
Doctor Gloom's Soapbox
from Doctor Gloom
 
Where is he??


 Gold Stars to...
The Yellow Bike Project and Bike Recycle Vermont!
UVM environmental studies major Ben Sarle brought dozens of "Yellow Bikes" onto the University of Vermont campus, and folks are eager to ride!   As part of his senior thesis project, Ben initiated a bike share co-op, making 20 bikes available for use by any faculty, staff or students at UVM.  Bikes are equipped with locks, the keys to which are made available once potential riders become co-op members.  It is anticipated that 100 members will eventually take part. Ron Manganiello of Bike Recycle Vermont provided the bikes. Recycling, and the promotion of sustainable, environmentally responsible transportaion, is part of BRV's mission.  Find out more about Bike Recycle Vermont here: 
www.bikerecycle.localmotion.org
The Localvores!  
They're springing up everywhere!  Local foods groups are forming in the Champlain Valley and in the Mad River Valley. The Champlain Valley group has a web site: http://www.eatlocalvt.org. Localvore leader Pat McGovern has established a tri-state Localvore list-serve with lots of good sharing of food sources. To join the serve see http://lists.valley.net/lists/info/localvore-discussion.
Winooski Rain Gardens Project
WINOOSKI -- A Winooski environmental board would like to create rain gardens on public and private land around Morehouse Brook to improve water quality.

According to Erik Bailey, superintendent of the Winooski Water Pollution Control Facility, the gardens also would provide natural habitats for birds and butterflies. He said rain gardens are not only an esthetically pleasing way to reach an environmental goal, but they're also the hot thing among stormwater regulators.

The leadership board also introduced doggie cleanup stations at Landry Park and the Gilbrook Natural Area to keep dog feces from running into the brook. They've also engaged the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps to help educate the public about stormwater runoff and pollution.  Read more.

(Ed note:  For information on how to build and install rain barrels and rain gardens, go to www.cwp.org/community_watersheds/brochure.pdf)


 Action
If You Must Drive...
And let's face it, a lot of us do... consider supporting the proposed gas tax, and insist that legislators use the highway funds raised and acquired to build better public transportation throughout Vermont.  Contact the House Ways and Means Committee and ask them to develop income sensitivity guidelines to reduce the impact of the gas tax on low income, rural Vermonters who do not have public transportation alternatives or the freedom to relocate at this time.  Continue to support progressive legislation on transportation issues.  And consider these fuel conservation methods when you travel:

-- SLOW DOWN: Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is the equivalent to paying an additional 19 cents per gallon for gas (this will help make up the "gas tax" difference a few times over!)
-- AVOID AGGRESSIVE DRIVING: Speeding, rapid acceleration and braking can lower your gas mileage by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town.
-- MAINTAIN YOUR CAR: Keep your car running smoothly with regular tune-ups, clean air filters, properly inflated tires and use of proper grade of oil; replacing a clogged air filter, for instance, can improve your car's gas mileage by as much as 10 percent.
-- AVOID EXCESSIVE IDLING.  (Consider turning your car engine off at long waits in intersections; park and get out of the car rather than using drive-up windows!)
-- COORDINATE SHOPPING TRIPS:  Create a list of errands to minimize the "one-item" ride.
-- USE CRUISE CONTROL AND OVERDRIVE GEARS.
-- KEEP WEIGHT DOWN: Remove unnecessary items. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce miles per gallon by up to 2 percent.
-- USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!  Students in the Peak Oil course at Burlington College suggest campaigns to make riding the bus "COOL" again.
-- OWN A BICYCLE!  Equip it with baskets to make some of your errands "cyclable."
-- WALK.  It's good for you.  

Sources: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml and Personal Checklist in Support of a Sustainable Future.

(Ed note:  Last year, 465 new Priuses were registered in Vermont.  For most of those new car owners, it's not a matter of saving $$ so much as it is seen to be a matter of saving the planet.  Controversial (i.e., guilt-free driving), but perhaps an early sign of a paradigm shift none-the-less.)


Environmental Leadership Board
The Winooski Environmental Leadership board is made up of five people, including volunteers from UVM, Winooski residents and Bailey. The group, which meets monthly, is looking for more environmentally conscious members. Contact Erik Bailey at 655-6421 or e-mail ebbailey@onioncity.com.

 HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DATES
Do you have paint, pesticides or cleaning products to get rid of?
Then bring them to a CVSWMD Hazardous Waste Collection!
Montpelier
Saturday, April 29, 9am - 1pm
Saturday, October 21, 9am -1pm
Memorial Drive, Dept. of Labor parking lot

Bradford
Saturday, May 13, 9am - 1pm
Saturday, September 30, 9am 1pm
Bradford Town Garage

Tunbridge
Saturday, May 20, 9am - 1pm
Tunbridge Transfer Station

Barre Town
Saturday, June 10, 9am - 1pm
Saturday, October 14, 9am 1pm
Barre Town Garage, Websterville Road

Hardwick
Saturday, September 9, 9am
Hardwick Town Garage

Please note: Businesses must call ahead and pre-register.
2006 Collection Schedule Disposal Costs
$10 per car for most residential loads. Call for more information.
Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District ph: 800-730-9475
www.cvswmd.org

Organize a Peak Oil Book Display!
Fletcher Free Library in Burlington has generously agreed to host a resource display focusing on peak oil through the month of April.  Please visit the library, check out a book, drop off any additional information, and show your thanks for providing some publicity on this important topic.  The library is limited to books in their collection, so if you feel a title is lacking, you can fill out a purchase request or donate a copy to the library.  Live outside of Burlington?  Talk to your town librarian about setting up a peak oil display in your local library.  A simple way to get the word out!

(ed note:  thanks to Matt Burke of the Chittenden County group for initiating this fine idea!)

Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper!
It's easy.  Keep it brief and concise.  Use it as an opportunity to express your concerns re:  fossil fuel depletion (the term "peak oil" has some currency now; you may want to go with that, or perhaps avoid it and point instead to some of the specifics:  higher fuel costs, increased costs of food, destabilized economy, further threat of global warming if we switch to coal, etc.) Let whatever you are most moved to bring to the discussion be your guide:  not everyone is an energy expert, but each of us is a citizen. Let's enjoy and maintain our right to freedom of speech.

Write a Letter to a Representative 
Dear Representative So and So:
You wrote: "Do you have specific ideas about what we can do at the state level?"
I'm glad you asked.  Here are some preliminary ideas... (pdf)

What's a Citizen TO DO?
There are so many issues needing attention in our communities, regions, and state-wide.  What's a Citizen TO DO? is an e-newsletter that offers weekly updates on events and actions needing a citizen's response.  Rallies, celebrations, workshops, conferences, exhibits, and legislative action alerts of interest to Vermonters, as well as news of national and international issues needing citizen attention, are featured.  If you would like to find out more, email debra (at) vtlink (dot) net.
 

Plan Ahead
Facing The Media Crisis:
Media Education for Reform, Justice and Democracy
 October 6-8, 2006: Burlington, Vermont
The Wyndham Lakefront Hotel and Champlain College
Dialogue with our courageous and compelling Summit keynote and plenary speakers: U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Sanders, Sut Jhally, Jean Kilbourne, Bill McKibben, Robert McChesney, Robert Jensen, Peter Phillips, John Stauber, Diane Wilson - and more than one dozen other prominent media educators and citizen/activists!

Submit a workshop proposal of your own! Teach others about your media education work!

For more information about the Summit, including speakers, workshop proposals, and registration, please visit http://www.acmecoalition.org   Earlybird registration is happening now!
 

Resources
Organic Industry Structure - Comprehensive chart, last updated June '05, detailing corporate ownership (can you say "buy out"?) of various "organic" product lines.  Sigh.  More reasons to support local economy!

Connect!  On-line Peak Oil Discussion Group for Vermonters
   
The Archives Strike Back!  The Archives page is finally up. The Index will help you find what you're looking for.
   
VT Resource page hosts links to organizations working on Sustainability, Food, Farm & Garden, Energy, Local             Economy, Community Building, and Transportation.  We live in an amazing state.  Check it out.

Additional resources - DVDs, charts, posters, more - on the National Links/Educational Resources page.


If you would like to submit a Guest Editorial or an article, please
contact us.

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